SAKIGAKE SEAL OF NAMIKAWA SOSUKE, AND ARTIST'S SIGNATURE SEITEI AND SEALED, MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH CENTURY)

Namikawa Sosuke had pioneered a 'pictorial' style of cloisonné enamelling as early as 1881, when his panels for the Second Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai [National Industrial Exposition] were exhibited in the Art section, in contrast to the work of other cloisonné workshops which was confined to the Industrial section. He would often look to ink paintings for inspiration as here after one by Watanabe Seitei (1851-1918). Sosuke went on to exhibit at the Amsterdam Universal Exhibition in 1883, the Nuremburg International Metalwork Exhibition in 1885 and the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889.

For a pair of vases with a similar design in the Victoria and Albert Museum see Gregory Irvine, Japanese Cloisonné Enamels: The Seven Treasures, (London, 2011), no.36, p.47

Watanabe Seitei's (1851-1918) early studies were under Kikuchi Yosai (1788-1878), after which he spent a brief time in the studio of the painter and lacquer artist, Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891). In 1878 he travelled in the United States and Europe, remaining in Paris for three years and becoming the first Nihonga artist to live in Europe with the aim of studying Western painting. On his return from Europe, Setei created designs for ceramics and cloisonné, working with the cloisonné artist Namikawa Soske (1847-1910), leading to acclaim from abroad.